Radical Detroit Mosque Members Charged By Feds Before Deadly Shootout

Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the reputed head of the Masjid al-Haqq mosque in Detroit, Michigan, was killed in a firefight with FBI agents yesterday after federal law enforcement officials converged upon a warehouse to arrest Abdullah and his followers on criminal conspiracy charges following a two-year long investigation

According to the criminal complaint in the case (see below), Abdullah and his "group of mostly African-American converts to Islam [sought] to establish a separate Sharia-law governed state within the United States."

The criminal charges against Abdullah, a previously convicted felon, charged that he discussed an attack on SuperBowl XL, blowing himself up if confronted by law enforcement, and dealt in stolen merchandise. "Abdullah and his followers have trained regularly in the use of firearms and continue to train in martial arts and sword fighting," an FBI agent alleged after receiving information from at least three (3) FBI informants during the investigation.

You can read the federal charges and a detailed 42-page FBI affidavit filed in the case against Abdullah and some of his followers before he was killed by FBI agents yesterday:

Here is a picture of the Masjid al Haqq mosque's former Dearborn, MI location before the followers were evicted by the City of Detroit on January 20, 2009 for not paying property taxes.

The criminal charges allege that during the eviction, Detroit Police Department officers "confiscated two firearms and approximately forty knives and martial arts weapons from Luqman Abdullah's apartment inside the mosque..[found] empty shell casings on the basement floor, and large holes in the concrete wall of the 'shooting range.' " An confidential source told the FBI that the weapons usage and fight training by certain of Abdullah's followers were intended for conflicts with law enforcement and area street gangs.

According to the charges, some of the defendants engaged in stealing and fencing goods, committed murder, used guns and knives, and altered stolen vehice VIN numbers.

Related Resources:

• Radical Mosque Leader Killed in FBI Shootout, Detroit Free Press (Oct. 29, 2009)
• The FBI Raid and Shooting Death of Imam Luqman, Muslim Alliance in North America (Oct. 29, 2009)
• 11 Members/Associates of Ummah Charged with Federal Violations: One Subject Fatally Shot During Arrest, U.S. Attorney, E.D. Mich.(Oct. 28, 2009)